PATRICK V. RUNESTAD

If you think the Michigan Republican Party is just one Kumbaya moment after another, better think again. Yes, you no longer hear about the fist fights and rumbles at party get-togethers like there were a couple of years ago. But there is still behind the curtain tension as evidenced of late when the state party, chaired by Milford area state Senator Jim Runestad, who is commandeering the GOP through the 2026 election cycle, crossed the line, some say, in not consulting with the Oakland Republican Party, chaired by Vance Patrick, when it came to Oakland County Circuit Court contests in the August primary. Patrick took the argument public when the state party issued a voter guide that included the races for circuit court and promoted candidate Nadine Hatten and excluded Lisa Marie Nelson, which the county party was backing. Patrick said Nelson was the “only candidate with prior judicial experience and the candidate endorsed by Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard.” The state party, according to Oakland party leaders, never consulted with local party folk. Then there is the question of whether Republican party members are supposed to be endorsing in primary contests. Patrick has also gotten some heat for his “personal” endorsement of Perry Johnson in the governor’s race (he lost). The Oakland County party chair says that his backing of Johnson was “personal” but then a number of insiders point out that the giant Johnson campaign bus seemed to have a permanent parking spot at the county party headquarters on Woodward in Bloomfield Hills. The spat also brings to the forefront the long-held public position that judicial races are reportedly non-partisan – wink, wink. Nelson is reportedly a Republican while Hatten, backed by the state, is a Democrat. The Oakland County Republican party was joined a short time later by the Jackson Republican party issuing a joint statement criticizing Runestad for also failing to consult with the local party officials there and for backing a known Democrat in Jackson County. According to the joint release, the state party failure is “part of a broader pattern of mismanagement” under MIGOP Chairman Jim Runestad. Patrick turned up the heat another notch by adding: “The chairman’s job is to raise money, build election infrastructure, support our candidates and prepare this party to win. That infrastructure is virtually nonexistent. Instead we have gotten distractions like the failed ‘Rock MI Red’ concert and repeated interference in the internal business of county parties.” As for the actual outcome in the primary, Nelson (110,948 votes) and Hatten (71,778) both survived the August race and will now face off in the general election. There does not seem to be much love lost for either the state party chair or Patrick in Oakland County. Said one party regular :‘I don’t know who is more incompetent.”

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  Vance Patrick

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  Jim Runestad